The County Championship returned on a damp Friday in the first week of April. A grand total of 4 games had their first day rained off without a ball bowled.

1. County Championship Cricket Draft
is Back!
Some first day thoughts, because — why not?
The County Championship returned on a damp Friday in the first week of April. A
grand total of 4 games had their first day rained off without a ball bowled.
Despite the thick cloud cover around the country, with the Kookaburra ball in hand,
wickets were hard to come by for the bowling cohort. This made it a good day to play
the extra batsman, despite the April stereotypes.
Warwickshire vs Worcestershire
Worcestershire, on their return to Division 1, faced the short trip to Edgbaston to
meet local rivals Warwickshire. Armed with traditional right arm medium bowlers,
the hosts elected to bowl.

3. • Hannon-Dalby got off to a sticky possible start conceding 10 from his first over as
Worcestershire rattled along. It may well have been worse had the outfield not been
so slow due to overnight rain. Kashif Ali kicked on and secured his maiden first class
hundred, before a good fight back in the final hour clawed the Bears back into the
contest.
• Fantasy must have: Jake Libby
• Just the 38 runs for Libby today, but at the modest price of 6.9 m, and 1153 runs @
57 avg last year, he will entice many even in Division 1. He is the talisman at New
Road and Worcestershire need him to have another big year if they want to beat the
drop.
• Bargain Buy: Kashif Ali, Michael Booth
• Kashif Ali looked utterly untroubled by Warwickshire’s attack, steadily ticking up to a
maiden first class century. Any fantasy managers who selected him got a good deal
(4.8m) but will be frustrated that he gave his wicket away late in the day.
• Michael Booth, on FC debut is very raw, but took the only wicket in the morning
session and looks to have some extra pace. At 4.5m, he’s worth a punt.
• Hold your nerve: Oliver Hannon-Dalby

4. • Hannon-Dalby got off to a sticky possible start conceding 10 from his first over as
Worcestershire rattled along. It may well have been worse had the outfield not been so
slow due to overnight rain. Kashif Ali kicked on and secured his maiden first class
hundred, before a good fight back in the final hour clawed the Bears back into the
contest.
• Fantasy must have: Jake Libby
• Just the 38 runs for Libby today, but at the modest price of 6.9 m, and 1153 runs @ 57
avg last year, he will entice many even in Division 1. He is the talisman at New Road and
Worcestershire need him to have another big year if they want to beat the drop.
• Bargain Buy: Kashif Ali, Michael Booth
• Kashif Ali looked utterly untroubled by Warwickshire’s attack, steadily ticking up to a
maiden first class century. Any fantasy managers who selected him got a good deal
(4.8m) but will be frustrated that he gave his wicket away late in the day.
• Michael Booth, on FC debut is very raw, but took the only wicket in the morning session
and looks to have some extra pace. At 4.5m, he’s worth a punt.

6. • Hold your nerve: Oliver Hannon-Dalby
• OHD was uncharacteristically expensive in his opening spell, perhaps still getting to grips
with the batter friendly Kookaburra ball. He fought back to gain control over his
economy, and even prized a wicket in the last half an hour. 54 wickets @ 19 avg in 2023
mean that he’s a bowler you should persist with.
• Essex vs Nottinghamshire
• Notts welcomed Essex to Trent Bridge, with play delayed an hour due to rain. Feroze
Khushi launched an enormous legside 6 before he and then Westley were removed
early. Elgar, who boasts 14 test centuries, proved how good he is once again, with a
typically determined innings. He was joined by Cox, on Essex debut, for most of his
innings as the pair formed a hundred partnership. Patterson did most of the damage for
Notts, trotting in effortlessly and claiming 5 wickets, though it was young leg spinner
Harrison that eventually saw the end of Cox.
• Fantasy must haves: Dane Patterson, Simon Harmer
• Patterson claimed his 100th FC wicket at Trent Bridge in only his 20th game there; his
control of seam movement challenges both edges and makes him a guaranteed wicket
taker even without the Dukes ball.

7. • A fellow South African, Harmers 900 First Class victims speak for themselves. The turn
Harrison got on day one should alarm all Nottinghamshire batsmen.
• Bargain Buy: Feroze Khushi
• The academy product is set for a long run at the top of the order for Essex, and will
look to score quickly. At 5.8m, he’s good value
• Hold your nerve: Brett Hutton
• Hutton went wicketless in the first innings, a rarity in 2023 when he claimed 62 wickets
@ 21 avg. The leading wicket taker from last year looked a little out of rhythm, but his
record means he’s certainly not one to axe.
• Middlesex vs Glamorgan
• Middlesex started their quest to return to the top division at home, welcoming
Glamorgan on a very beige surface, lacking the stereotypical green tinge. Much like
Warwickshire, Middlesex’s bowling attack struggled without the Dukes ball, and they
lacked a point of difference throughout the day. Captain Sam Northeast’s incredible
186* steered his team to 370/3 at the close, well clear of the 250 first innings average
from the games at Lords last April.

8. • Fantasy-must-have: Sam Northeast
• Any team with Northeast in it has got off to the perfect start. 6.9m was always a
great deal, and though he didn’t have a particularly big season last year, his 2023
average remaining the right side of 50 demonstrated the class of the man.
• Bargain Buy: Josh De Caires
• At a reasonable 5.9m, De Caires offers something with bat and ball. April is
unlikely to bring heaps of wickets for the off spinner, but chipping in occasionally
whilst scoring runs at 7 could make him an underrated selection.